Entries tagged with: MilesBenjaminAnthonyRobinson

On October 30, Glasslands will play host to "The BuzzBin of History:, A Night with the World's Premier Alternative Rock Cover Band Kerosene Hat." The band's lineup is made up of a number of Brooklyn musicians: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Johnny Hunt (Amazing Baby), Simon O'Connor (Amazing Baby/Kuroma), Pan (Suckers), Will Berman (MGMT), and Heems DJ (Das Racist). Some of those members have also played together in Ill Fits and members of Suckers were also in 90s tribute band Citizen Dick, named after the band in Singles. Tickets for that Glasslands show are on sale now.

Speaking of Singles -- the 1992 film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, which depicted the ups and downs of the relationships (and lack thereof) of twentysomethings living in grunge-era Seattle -- both the film and its iconic soundtrack celebrate their 20th anniversary this year. The film was scored by The Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg, who also wrote two songs for the soundtracks, including the addictive theme song, "Waiting for Somebody." Other contributors to the soundtrack included Alice In Chains, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, in addition to a song by Jimi Hendrix and a Led Zeppelin cover by Heart side project The Lovemongers. (Crowe was married to Heart's Nancy Wilson at the time.) The movie and its soundtrack have both gone on to be remembered as a piece of the history from that famed Seattle scene.

In its 20th anniversary, Singles has been getting some tributes. Stereogum did one back in June around the anniversary of the actual soundtrack (which predated the film by about three months), where they reevaluated the album and its place in pop culture two decades later. This week, in celebration of the actual film's anniversary, SPIN did one where they took a stab at who might make the soundtrack if a similar film was made now.

Speaking of films and Paul Westerberg, The Replacements documentary, Color Me Obsessed, is getting a DVD release on November 20 via MVD Entertainment Group. You can pre-order the documentary HERE. The flier and trailer for the documentary are below, along with the video for Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart" from the Singles soundtrack that features a mugging Jeremy Piven.

As mentioned in last week's This Week in Indie, Ill Fits, who played Cameo on Saturday (7/30), have members of MGMT and Amazing Baby. Since that show, more details on the band have emerged. The Village Voice writes of the show:

By the time Ill Fits came on, the crowd had filled out considerably; friends and scene associates were eager to catch the second show of the sorta-supergroup. (Ill fits contains members of MGMT, Amazing Baby, and Foreign Islands, and it's fronted by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson.) They deal in a tasteful kind of midtempo pop that has shades of new wave and a hint of Genesis. Each member of this band is a consummate professional, but they were still working out the kinks as a group, stopping and starting at a few points. Robinson was a strange mood; whether he was compelling despite or because of this, I'm not sure. He threw a few screeches into his cool intonations, banged his tambourine on the stage, spilled multiple beers, and delivered a whole song lying down, then put the whole mic in his mouth. "Are you having a good time?" he asked the audience. We replied in the affirmative. "Not as good as me!" he answered back.

Ill Fits, who also have "members of Los Caminos, Tough & Lovely, and Bygones" in addition to the bands mentioned above, have more upcoming shows including August 25 at Bruar Falls, August 27 at The Schoolhouse with Spanish Prisoners, Data Dog, Fort Lean and EULA, and Glasslands on September 10 with Mon Khmer and Young Magic. Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now.

Fareed & Conner of HH will focus their energies on new material at Pianos, and have roped in a crew of notables during the four week stint. The residency kicks off on 2/4 with sets by Family Portrait, Beige, Mega Fortress, and Philip Seymour Hoffman while Nate of Cults DJs the affair (tickets).

The 2nd week (2/11) features Tony Castles, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson & Brahms on DJ duty (tickets), while a mystery headliner plays with DADS (featuring Hima Suri of Das Racist + Quinn Walker of Suckers) and Blood Orange and a DJ set from Das Racist on 2/18 (tickets). The residency closes on 2/25 with Popo & Android Lust and more TBA (no advanced tickets for that yet). The full lineups and flyer are below.

Cults and Brahms both have other dates in the near future too. As discussed, Cults, Magic Kids, and Superhumanoids are scheduled to take on Knitting Factory on March 30th(tickets) and March 31 at Mercury Lounge (tickets) as part of a larger Cults campaign to SXSW and on to Coachella. Brahms is scheduled to DJ Asobi Seksu's show at Mercury Lounge (tickets) and play Glasslands on 2/24 with Acrylics and New Moods (tickets).

More details on the HH residency, more Brahms dates, the digital 7-inch and the Headless Horseman album stream is below....

Alix of Golden Triangle (left) needs your attention... and for a good cause!

The Rock Lottery began in Denton, TX in 1997 (and in Seattle in 2006). This will be Brooklyn's inaugural Rock Lottery. The premise is simple, but effective. Twenty-five hand picked musicians meet at 10:00AM at the evening's performance venue. These volunteers are organized into five groups through a lottery-based chance selection. The five separate groups are then released to practice at different locations. The musicians have twelve hours to create a band name and three to five songs (with a one cover-song limit). The groups will then perform what they have created that evening in front of a waiting audience.

The Rock Lottery compiles those 25 musicians from varying backgrounds in an attempt to move each out of their comfort zones and into musical exploration. The participants, which include members of Liturgy, Oberhofer, King Missile III, Death Set, Bear In Heaven, Family Band, Les Savy Fav, White Rabbits, and many others, will perform their new pieces at Knitting Factory on Saturday (12/18). Tickets are on sale, and proceeds from the show will go to World Savvy, a local charity focused on teaching the "next generation of leaders to learn, work and live as responsible global citizens in the 21st century."

So what do the two ladies in the above picture have to do with The Rock Lottery? The one on the left is bassist Alix Brown of Golden Triangle, who is a participant in the show. The lady on the right is Carlie Rabalais (also Golden Triangle) and the picture is a production still taken from the video shoot for "Crystal" by Carlie's other band X-Ray Eyeballs who will release heir debut album, Not Nothing, via Kanine Records on April 19th, 2011. No word on when "Crystal" will hit the rounds, but you can catch the band at a pair of shows in the near future, including supporting Tyvek and Fergus & Geronimoat Mercury Lounge on 1/16 (tickets are still on sale) and Bruar Falls this Wednesday (12/15) with Food Stamps + My Teenage Stride.

Full participant list in The Rock Lottery, some recent video of X-Ray Eyeballs at Shea Stadium, and tour dates below.

It's an exciting lineup for multiple reasons, but right now I just want to focus on The Mynabirds, aka Omaha singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn (and friends). You might remember her as 1/2 of Georgie James. The other half of that indie pop group was John Davis of Q and not U, and they were also a Saddle Creek signing.

Get a live taste, way before CMJ, tonight/Friday, September 24th at Brooklyn Bowl when The Mynabirds open for David Bazan. The two groups are on tour together (and it's their only NYC show). $5.00 tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of David Bazan, Feltheart Filmworks recently put together a 3-part documentary about the ex-Pedro the Lion member. You can watch that in full, with all dates and stuff, below...

Record release shows are typically festive events, but the fanfare was rather minimal for Tuesday night's Here We Go Magicshow at the Music Hall of Williamsburg - with the possible exception of Luke Temple's festive red Hawaiian shirt.

When the first opener of the evening, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, unceremoniously walked on stage and started playing, the room was nearly empty, but since the show was piped down into the basement bar, people gradually began filtering upstairs as they realized that the show had begun. Despite the growing number of listeners, however, MBAR's energy level changed very little throughout his performance. His occasional stage banter (if you can call it that) seemed to be delivered, tight-lipped, through a smirk as if he didn't care whether he was intelligible or not.

Robinson often performs with a backing band, but for last night's performance (perhaps because he was a late addition to the bill), he was solo. With the exception of the final song, the majority of Robinson's set contained just a keyboard and pre-programmed beats. For his last song, Robinson juggled both the guitar and the keyboard, saying under his breath at the song's conclusion, "I guess I should have tuned my guitar before the song and not during it."

Hearing Robinson live is nothing like hearing his albums (his first was produced by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, and his second, by TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone.) Take it or leave it (and some people will definitely leave it), Robinson is an intriguing musical enigma who already has something of a fabled past.

It's hard to tell if he takes himself too seriously or if he is overly cynical and sarcastically self-aware. He performed in one of the t-shirts he sold at the merch table, which says, in big black block letters, "MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY ROBINSON IS DEAD," and he performed a cover of the Hall and Oates song "Rich Girl" midway through his set.

Next up was The War on Drugs, who put on an enjoyable enough set despite some minor feedback issues. With their rock and roll hair, jangly guitar riffs, soaring keyboard melodies, and fuzzed out lyrics, it's easy to get lost in the Philly three-piece's music. As with the first opener, the War on Drugs' vocals were largely indecipherable, but to be fair, that did not seem to be the focal point of their music. They jammed for a solid two minutes before singing at all at the top of their set.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson has been added as an opener for Here We Go Magic at MHOW tonight. The War on Drugs is also on the bill. We have some free tickets for the show. If you want a pair, email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: HWGM). Include your first and last name. Winners will be contacted.

Brooklyn four-piece SUCKERS will be releasing their debut full-length, Wild Smile, on June 8 through NYC tastemaker label Frenchkiss Records (Les Savy Fav, The Dodos, Local Natives, The Antlers and more). The album was recorded, produced and mixed in NYC by Chris Zane (Passion Pit/Walkmen), except for "It Gets Your Body Movin'" (produced by Anand Wilder and Chris Moore) and "Save Your Love For Me" (Chris Moore), and was mastered by Joe Laporta (Vampire Weekend). SUCKERS will also be joining labelmates Local Natives for tour dates in May - scroll down for dates.

The first single from the album, yet to be announced, will be released in April. In the meantime, check out the SUCKERS' cover of The Raveonettes track "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)" from their album In and Out of Control (out now on VICE Music).

Coincidentally, Suckers will also share a bill with Local Natives at the BrooklynVegan/M For Montreal SXSW day party (3/20 @ Galaxy Room). Not coincidentally, they'll share a bill with Local Natives at the Frenckiss showcase happening at the same venue the night before.

Shilpa Ray will also be at SXSW - her schedule is below. And she plays at the Cameo this Sunday with Bizi Gara and Asa Ransom.

In Austin, Suckers play the French Kiss/Mom+Pop show on Friday, March 19th with Freelance Whales, Local Natives, An Horse Galaxy, The Antlers and Les Savy Fav. Suckers will also play the free BrooklynVegan & M For Montreal show at Galaxy Room on Saturday, March 20th (noon-5:30pm). Other announced bands on that bill so far are Roky Erickson (backed by Okkervil River) and Andrew WK. Full lineup TBA shortly.

Suckers are playing this...

Shilpa Ray actually played the official BV SXSW show in 2009, and Miles Benjamin played one of our CMJ parties the same year. All upcoming dates and MBAR live videos are below...

As pointed out in the comments, Noveller's Brooklyn Valentine's Day show at Glasslands will be happening instead at Coco 66. The lineup for that includes Bad Credit No Credit, The Shivers, comic Caroline Contillo and DJ Ropstyle .

Just Out: Being a gay artist living in DC, one of your continuing legacy, would seem that to put you under a political umbrella with so many civil rights and marriage equality issues being introduced into Congress right now. Do you actively participate in politics, or do you tend to stay away?

Bob Mould: Well, when I first moved to DC I did some stuff with HRC, and that went okay. I did some stuff with Servicemember's Legal Defense Network, which I think that's a real important cause. Through Blowoff, we've done a couple things with raising money for them., We've done local stuff with Brother, Help Thyself, and I did do a lot of stuff in '04 with Freedom to Marry out of New York, with some of the Wed Rock benefits, and I hosted one of those in DC, and performed at one in New York. I've done select causes, and tried to help out when it seems to make sense. Privately, I do what I can on my own dime. But I try; I'm sure I should probably do more, but it's a big community. I think for every two people that thinks we should have gay marriage, there's at least one that's not so sure. That's the beauty of the community is that we can have different views. So yeah, if the cause is right and it makes sense, I don't mind helping out when I can.

JO: Do you try to keep your music and your politics as separate entities?

BM: Yeah. Being an old punk rock kid and watching how hardcore degenerated into a lot of rural-oriented politics that I didn't agree with...it's tough. I'm just not sure that being a good songwriter makes me a good spokesperson for political causes.

Bob Mould will be playing two nights at NYC's City Winery on January 22nd and 23rd. Tickets for night one and night two are on sale now.

His last NYC gig was an October 8th show at Irving Plaza with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson opening. Mould's set at the show spanned his entire catalog, from early Husker song "In A Free Land" to his latest Life and Times. Videos and the set list from that show are posted below.

Robinson has a pair of NYC shows with These United States coming up on on Thursday, Nov. 19th at the Bell House (tix) and Friday, Nov. 20th at Mercury Lounge (tix). All upcoming tour dates (including Mould's next NYC Blowoff on November 20th) are below...

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is playing a free show at Bruar Falls in Brooklyn this Saturday (9/19) with Sir Frog (featuring Sam Brown of The Whitest Kids you Know) and DJ sets by Ivan Sunshine and Brian Kraft.

Robinson is also scheduled to make multiple CMJ appearances when the fest takes over the town from Oct. 20th-24th. CMJ's current lineup (still not 100% complete, much like our own CMJ parties), and all Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson dates, below...

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's Summer of Fear, the follow-up to his 2008 self-titled debut, is set for an October 20th release on Saddle Creek. The label, which recently signed the songwriter, tells the TVotR/Grizzly Bear-littered story of the new record...

TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone--a close friend since the pair met en route to a Grizzly Bear show in 2005--helped bottle Robinson's bruised hymns last winter, ramping up the tension in such standout tracks as "Death by Dust," "Summer of Fear pt. 2," "The Sound," and the 11-and-a-half draining minutes of "More Than a Mess," a haunting epic that deserves its own short film. (Or more than half of Side D; Summer of Fear is spread across two LPs like one of Robinson's favorite records, Tusk.) Since they both "have a tendency toward a generally and hilariously doom stricken worldview," Malone also understood what Robinson was going for with his redemption songs. After all, he was there that summer. He saw it all go down, and now that he's heard the whole thing told through Summer of Fear's relentless and raw tone poems, he can't wait to see what Robinson comes up with next. (Robinson is desperate to record his third record--yes, already. Written last year in the midst of touring to support his unexpected self-titled debut, he describes the disc as containing,"actual songs...as opposed to vaguely melodic litanies of grievance.")

Robinson recently made a video for the song "Woodfriend," which is posted below.

October 20th will be a big day for Saddle Creek (home of Tokyo Police Club, Cursive and Land of Talk). It's also the release date for the latest by new signees Old Canes. The record, Feral Harmonic, is the Lawrence, KS band's second.

Old Canes architect Chris Crisci (also known as half of Appleseed Cast) constructed Feral Harmonic largely alone in his basement studio. He played the majority of the instrumentation himself with additional help from a cast of musician friends contributing various parts, including trumpet, harmophone, cello, and hammer dulcimer, among other instruments. As recording was regularly interrupted by touring, work, other projects, and life in general, production on the album took nearly three and a half years to complete.

Tracklist and album art are below.

The label will also be dropping a new album from Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, Art In Manila, O+S), titled Ask The Night, on October 6th.

Ask The Night was primarily recorded live to 8-track by Stephen Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal) in Orenda's former Omaha, NE, basement (she is now based in Los Angeles, CA), as well as by Andy LeMaster (Now It's Overhead; production on Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Azure Ray) in his Athens, GA, living room.

The album features a wide variety of players and singers, including producers Stephen Bartolomei and Andy LeMaster, Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching), and Adrianne Verhoeven (Dri, The Anniversary, Art In Manila), among others. Four songs on Ask The Night are collaborations with Birmingham, AL-based artist and poet Chris Lawson...

Lawson also provided the album's art, which, with the tracklist, is below.

UUVVWWZalso released an album on Saddle Creek on July 7th, and they'll also be in NYC in October (for CMJ). In fact, they'll be playing what looks like an extremely sick bill at Union Pool on October 24th with An Albatross, Dark Meat, Lovvers, Flexions, ZzZ, and JEFF The Brotherhood.

For a taste of what Saddle Creek has been up to over the past year (before any of the new bands mentioned above), check out the free sampler they're giving away on Amazon. All upcoming TRAA and UUVVWWZ tour dates, and above-mentioned things, are below...

This time it's about two shows anybody should have no trouble getting into. The first...

Saturday Feb 14th 8:00pm $8GlassLands Valentines Party: Live Music and Food! Presented by Kyp Malone
Performances by: The Wild Yaks, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, The 100 and the hands, Rain Machine (Kyp Malone) will open the show with a short set. DJ Megan Offner
All food made by chef Christine Buckley

The second is Sunday night, February 15th, at Death By Audio. It's Iran's record release party. Dissolver is out (physically) on February 17th via Narnack Records. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is also on that bill, as are The Fakers and Pure Horsehair. Iran are also playing SXSW. TV on the Radio are also playing Coachella and Bonnaroo.

Kyp's TVOTR bandmate Tunde performed as Fake Male Voice at Glasslands a few days ago with True Primes. More pictures from that show below...

Suckers are also opening for Yeasayer at Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 6th. Chairliftopens on December 5th.

I have one pair of tickets to giveaway to each Amazing Baby Mercury Lounge show. Their new video, a set of pictures from the show they played at the Annex on October 21st (during CMJ), and the contest details, are all below...

El Ten Eleven is an instrumental/post-rock duo from LA "known for combining guitar/bass doubleneck or fretless bass, with heavy looping and effects pedaling, over acoustic or electric drumming."

"This weekend I had my face melted (a few times actually) down at the Larimer Lounge -- most completely by the duo El Ten Eleven, who were opening for Land of Talk on Saturday night. Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty make mindblowing sounds using just a drum set and fretless bass/double-necked guitar.

With the help of about 27 different pedal and whirlygig deals on the floor, they loop layers of sound to create some amazing(ly fun) music. From the initial stirrings of even something like Pachelbel's "Canon in D," I've always found the slow build and denouement in any song to be fascinating, especially ones that focus on adding the layers of sound or noise and then taking them back." [I am Fuel, You are Friends]

Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty are also members of the San Diego-based band SoftLightes (who put out an album on Modular). My friend said, "I like El Ten Eleven more than Ratatat!"

Check out El Ten Eleven, TONIGHT, Wednesday November 26th, Thanksgiving-Eveat The Bell House in Brooklyn. The show was originally supposed to be at Union Hall, but was moved so more people could have fun. Castanets, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Happy Anarchy are also on the bill.

Asthmatic Kitty is now offering "the entire full-length history of Castanets, from Cathedral (2004), to the haunting First Lights Freeze (2006), to the mystic In the Vines (2007) for just $15. And while supplies last, this bundle also includes a limited edition tour EP split with Shapes and Sizes."

El Ten Eleven are also playing a NYC show on Friday at 927Tribeca with Abigail Warchild. All tour dates and a video below...

Lykke Li went from the Tribeca Grand to Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday (10/21) to Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wednesday. At Bowery, her only official CMJ show, she was joined by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and Friendly Fires. More pictures from that one below...